"Hahaha..haa...haa...Ma'am he really isn't injured. He is really training a bloodline power with that blindfold, go on and show her Chronos." After her fit of laughter Lyla tried to slow Freydis down, but she wasn't having any of it.
"Don't be ridiculous lass. We Beklaedning's haven't ever had a bloodline power in our entire recorded history. We can't just develop a power from out of nowhere."
Seeing that they weren't going to get anywhere with talking Chronos decided to just show her.
Breaking free of her grip he cast an [Isolate] around himself, Freydis froze when she saw it.
She stared at the strange yet somehow familiar power that came from [Isolate] then she gently touched it, like it might shatter and disappear in the next moment. Within seconds nearly every werewolf that had jumped over the wall to hunt monsters had returned and was dumbfoundedly staring at Chronos.
"How is this possible?"
"It shouldn't be."
"There has never been a recorded Beklaedning clan member possessing a bloodline power."
"Until now it seems."
Snapping out of her trance Freydis looked at the gathered werewolves, they could all clearly feel the power even in combat and had come running.
"Alright that's enough gawking! Off with ye, there are still monsters to kill. I'll let all of ya know what's going on later." She waved her hands at them, shooing them off.
"Come with me, I think ya owe me an explanation." She said as she gave Chronos a glare that said she would not accept no for an answer.
"I think we both need some answers." Came Commander Stan's voice as he walked around a tent. "My God sent me a message saying that you had found something important but would need some help."
Smiling at each other Chronos replied.
"I don't know about help, we were only outnumbered three to one like at the beginning of the battle."
"And completely exhausted after fighting all day against beasts that lack intelligence. The troll king would've eaten you alive if we hadn't made it in time. Come on, Admiral Kaelvar was kind enough to set up a tent for all of us." Commander Stan chuckled as he led them into the inner area of the camp.
Along the way Sariah joined them while Gregory carefully avoided Aunt Freydis's glare. She blamed him for running off without warning just as much as she blamed Chronos.
Once they were inside the inner area Chronos could see a large tent set up in the center. Entering it he noticed that the previous set up of a lord meeting his subordinates had been changed out for a round table so each member could sit as equals.
That was likely done to avoid insulting Commander Stan who was a king rank.
Chronos doubted he would be upset with the previous seating arrangements, but it was better to be safe rather than sorry when you were dealing with beings that could slaughter your army in an hour.
Captain Varkesh was already sitting down with several other captains and Matriarch Vaelith. Sethriss was standing behind her but had several new scars and everyone looked tired.
"Thank you for having us, Admiral. I heard about what happened in the first tear from my men before they shattered the world crystal but I'm afraid I don't know much about what happened after that. I hope you don't mind if we start there?" Commander Stan said as he shook the Admirals hand.
"Of course, Commander. I would also like to know what is happening in the northern swamps as well. We have been rather isolated from the rest of the swamp since we found the tear here."
With everyone sitting down Chronos sighed. It was going to be a long discussion, and he was quite hungry right now, he could only hope that someone would bring them something to eat soon.
They all turned to Chronos for him to start with his report. "When we were expelled from the tear, we found ourselves face to face with a Jotun..."
"...And then we heard the sounds of war horns to the north, and you know the rest from there."
It had taken Chronos three hours to give his report and answer any questions they had without hiding anything from them this time.
Just as he finished the campcook brought in soup to set the table for dinner. It was an easy meal to cook and could be made in large quantities, which the werewolves assured him would be needed as they had been running for two days in order to reach them in time.
"You never said anything about this system before." Admiral Kaelvar said.
"I mean no offense Admiral, but this could change the entire world. I wasn't sure if you would kill me to keep it for your empire instead of sharing it with others."
He nodded as he might really have killed them if it was as useful as Chronos said. Then he turned to Commander Stan.
"How did you know that we needed help?"
"After the first tear was closed, we began working on other tears but were interrupted by a horde of monsters. My scouts found out that goblins and kobolds had been herding them our way shortly after that.
I realized that this was a familiar tactic that had been used in the past when the beast tide came down from the mountains, specifically it was Duke Darrius that used it to herd beasts into a small nation that had been opposing the empire for quite some time.
After that I got a bad feeling about what was going on and started spreading my scouts out to gather more information. When they found proof of a large, organized force heading to the south I had my men march to intercept them. It wasn't until this morning that I received a revelation that a major battle was being fought here and rushed to assist you.
Along the way we informed our friends amongst the tribes, and they gathered the lizardfolk army to assist us. Lizardfolk and naga can move much faster than humans in the swamp, which allowed them to amass a large army in a very short period of time."
Turning to Freydis, Admiral Kaelvar asked, "And what about your forces?"
"My force was sent to assist the naga's and lizardfolk while tracking Chronos' location so we could give him orders. With the appearance of the tears the old family rules don't really apply anymore. We had to search over half of Dracon Fen before we found a reliable trail and that led us straight into battle after a two-day run. His newly developed bloodline power is an unexpected surprise."
Chronos growled in frustration, he had only just escaped a month ago and now he might be forcibly sent back. Lyla gently stroked his fur to help him calm down instead of trying to escape on the spot.
"It might not be that bad, they were only sent to find and give you orders." She whispered to him.
He nodded and chose to remain seated. Freydis sneakily smiled at their interaction, a werewolf wouldn't let just anybody stroke their fur even if they did know you.
Admiral Kaelvar looked confused as nothing Freydis said included a reason for running for two-days straight.
Captain Lysira gave Admiral Kaelvar a pointed look and said, "They are war wolves. The legendary war wolves that assisted and assaulted our empire thousands of years ago."
Kaelvar's eyes went wide as he realized the implications of that statement while Freydis smiled. If they truly were war wolves then that alone was reason enough to run for two days straight.
"I'm glad to know that not everybody has forgotten what our ancestors have accomplished but I ask that you remember that what they accomplished doesn't have anything to do with what we choose to do today."
Admiral Kaelvar gave her a strange look then said, "I hope you realize that your ancestors are nearly all famous for their ridiculous acts. The one that helped our empire slaughtered an entire pod of goliath deep-sea razorjaws that nearly destroyed the capital before drinking half the coral court under the table and dancing with the mermaid princess into the early hours of the morning at the celebration party afterwards."
"Oh, that's not too bad then." Freydis said.
"The mermaid princess isn't supposed to be touched by any man until her marriage day." He exasperatedly said.
"The clan can't be held accountable for every werewolf that goes and does something stupid. That includes our ancestors." She replied with a smile that showed they wouldn't take responsibility for anything done by their members while they were outside of the clan.
The admiral sighed as it was recorded that the clan head at the time had said nearly the exact same thing when they had complained in the past. When they had tried to get compensation for the offense the Beklaedning clan had sunk half their armada in retaliation but hadn't killed even a single merfolk.
In the end the merfolk empire had given up and the Beklaedning clan had backed off afterwards with no resolution on either side.
Even after thousands of years, they hadn't changed at all. They were essentially a clan of well-behaved thugs.
The problem was that they often had the power to back up their actions.