the house whose tale is told in blood

Leonel slowly got up and opened his eyes to see the two new members of their little merry band. "Apollo, Vitani" he whispered as he witnessed their majesty. 'So, you were the one we fused with? good to meet you cub, i am Apollo the leader of this pride you will do well to listen and pay attention' the large red lion said. ' Oh, give it a rest Apollo we are dead and in a new world, no one is alpha here except the cub before us as he's our summoner' the mist like lioness said as she approached him and rubbed his hair with her tail.

'Humph he still has a lot to learn if he wishes to take my position and until I deem him fit for the role, he will remain a cub to us all Vitani' Apollo said as he looked him up and down. ' yes well I missed you two greatly but we have a limited amount of time to push this cub to his limits, for now let him rest while I fill you two in on everything that's happened' Sarabi said like a big sister. Leonel took that as his que to drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes devoid of energy. Sarabi caught him and threw him atop her with her tail then turned to the two.

' First let's start with the basics, I'm sure you two all know what has happened so far since you were able to see from his soul, either way right now our task is to reach each free city and have him duel their masters for combat experience' she said. ' He already has the basics mastered but he lacks in experience and his advanced techniques are shoddy at best, he still doesn't have access to his lion arts as well, we'll have to begin training his body rigorously from now on' Apollo said as he was the foremost expert in the physical aspect of the pride.

'His reaction speed and thought processes need to be worked on as well, I'll teach him all I know, he also needs something for his offhand, maybe a thrown weapon? daggers?' Vitani thought out loud. 'Whatever we do it needs to be done at its own pace, our cub is still quite young and id like him to witness and see many a thing, not to mention he is not like us, emotions are a great power humans wield' Sarabi said. 'yes he is still a child in human standards, very well, lets do it this way, the morning is reserved for Sarabi to teach him spirit tuning and mana control, the afternoon is for Apollo to shred his muscles and the night will be for me to take advantage of that and loosen him up further as well as work on his reaction speed how does that sound?' Vitani asked.

the other two nodded in agreement as it seemed like a decent plan. the next morning came quick, and their new training regime was well underway as Leonel sat atop Sarabi listening to her lessons as they approached the city. Caelum, one of the free cities that populate caelid and the first one to rise from the unforgiving sands and valleys. it almost seemed like a city of angels with its pure white architecture as almost everything was made of white stone in order to combat the intense heat the region received every day. nomad caravans entered and exited the city freely as they approached.

two large guards equipped with leather armor and large sabers guarded the gate alongside their dogs which paled in size to the three lions before them. "s-state your business traveler" one of the guards stuttered out. " I am here to fight in the arena, is it open at this time?" he asked. "The arena? well no it only opens every weekend, but you'll need a recommendation from a noble in order to participate" the other stoic guard answered. " Well do you know of any nobles willing to give me such a recommendation?" he asked as a small sack of coin entered the palm of the stoic guard.

" mhmm well lord Milweed lost his champion last month and the mercenaries he keeps getting only make it to the fourth round, his villa is to the southwest of the noble's quarters, the other is lady Hoslow who is trying to keep her sons and daughter away from the arena with little success, maybe she'd like someone to take their place?" the guard asked. "Then I'll do that, thank you gentlemen for your help" he said as Sarabi entered followed by apollo although Vitani seemed to have disappeared.

the city was a work of art to the untrained eye, large buildings glistening in the sunlight, people of all races, sizes, and genders went about their business in one of the largest trade hubs of the lands between. the market was a sight to see, all manner of different stalls with hundreds of different foods and accessories. at the center stood a large stall sporting all manner of weaponry and armor, all high quality as Leonel could even see some pieces that could match up to his own armor.

he approached the stall only to be instantly greeted by a beautiful dancer with auburn hair," welcome noble knight to the god steel emporium, what can I help you with?" the lady asked with a brilliant smile. ' Ask her about throwing weapons cub' Vitani's voice came into his head suddenly. " Uh well do you have any throwing weapons?" he asked. " Why yes indeed, we have all manner of weaponry available to all manner of warriors please follow me" she said as she walked towards one of the corners of the mini store. there she showed off a large number of knives and ninja stars, but nothing truly stuck out to him. " Tell me lad, how's Ansel doing?" a voice said from behind them.

"Father?" the lady asked in confusion as Leonel stared at the man before him. a large build and equipped with a dirty apron covered in stains of all manner, auburn unkempt hair flowed down his back and large arms built for hammer work. " How do you know my master?" he asked. " Who doesn't know sky render Ansel? he is the governor of star fall city and the champion of the god's arena, He's also my brother" he said. "Brother? I didn't know master had siblings, I apologize, last a knew he was in the manor protecting lady Astra" he said. "Hah still doing the same old, still... it's good to hear... tell me boy what would you like? as far as I can tell you do not need any weapons and armor judging by the billion-lunar coin worth equipment you run around with" he said as he eyed his armor and halberd in appreciation.

"Well, I was recommended by a friend to try out thrown weapons for my offhand as my style usually leaves my right hand free during combat" he said. "mhmm then you'll need something that won't stop you from using your glint stone arts, I have something I made Ansel long ago, but he called it dishonorable but maybe you'd think otherwise, come with me" he said as he headed for the main counter and reached behind it grasping at a blue case. he threw the case at Leonel who opened it to see crystalline darts about the length of his finger resting within it numbering a couple thousand.

" Made from the scales of an adult glint stone dragon they have been sharpened and toughened to the extreme and your ability to control glint stone will turn these boys into deadly arrows capable of returning back to you with a simple command, what do you think?" he asked as he witness the boy pick one up and levitate it off his palm. " Perfect, how much do I owe you?" he asked. "Oh, just take it, they can only be used by Carian knights after all and they've been with me since I was but a child, they've never sold till now, so I highly doubt I'll get a sale anytime soon, just promise to give me a good show at the arena" he said.

"Will do, thank you for this, I'll take my leave now" he said before hopping atop Sarabi and heading in the direction of house Hoslow. 'Wait, how the hell did he know I was going to enter the arena?' he thought to himself before ultimately shaking his head and putting the though away for later. house Hoslow was quite the extravagant mansion. the blood rose decorations where everywhere, the knights guarding it sported quite the extravagant armor but what caught his eye the most was a young boy his age with curly black hair attempting to jump the gate. suddenly before he gets to the other side a red whip snatched his ankle and yanked him down viciously as another boy with straight black hair and a ponytail used the momentum to launch himself up to the top.

" AHH FUCK YOU JUNO WE AGREED THAT IT WAS MY TIME TO GO" the curly haired boy yelled up to the smug boy atop the fence. " Aah little brother your words' wound me so, we both know that You'll only pretend to go to the arena then look for that servant girl you fancy" the boy said before jumping off the fence only to be caught by glint stone which quickly covered his foot much to his dismay. "WHO? UNHAND ME FOR I AM JUNO OF MHMMMHMHHMM HMMMM" he was stopped by the glint stone covering him fully below the nose. " My oh my, neither one of you made it a foot out the gate and someone already took one of you out, mhmm and Hes cute" another voice came from behind the gate as a girl no older than the three of them strutted over hand on her hip.

curly long hair cascading down her back towards her waist, full pink lips accenting her features alongside striking violet eyes which looked Leonel up and down in a calculative manner. "Iris? quick little sister come and help your brother cross the fence" the curly haired boy pleaded. " Ha as if I would Diallos, mother is already on her way and whoever is on the other side will get punished" she said as she watched a blood red shadow materialize behind Diallos. he turned around almost robotically only to see the smiling face of his mother. lady Hoslow seemed to be an old warrior as some scars marred her otherwise beautiful face although it did not hide her ire which was quickly building.

"Ah my beautiful children, do tell me as to why you would let your brother leave without my permission? oh you three do know i do not like to do this but you leave me no choice" she softly whispered as Juno let out tears of pure horror. the glint stone shattered into white motes setting him free which he took as an opportunity to run but a reddish black hole on the ground appeared as red tentacles akin to blood snatched his ankle and slowly dragged him in. "MOTHER PLEASE I BEG OF YOU IT WAS BUT A JOKE PLEASE I DID NOT MEAN IT AAAAHHHHH" he yelled out in Leonel's opinion like a little girl as he was dragged into the hole which then closed.

a soft palm landed upon Diallos's shoulder which sent shivers all thorough his body. " Tell me child, do you too wish to leave your poor mother?" a sickly-sweet voice asked in a sing song manner behind him. "n-no m-mo-mother h-how c-could i-i-i do s-such a t-thing" he said as a bit of wee dripped down his maroon pants staining them slightly. " Oh, that is wonderful, now run along my child for you still have studies awaiting you, iris your mother thanks you for informing me, do let the helpful knight in and serve him something like I taught you" she said. "of course, mother, please follow me honored guest" she said as her posture and tone changed rather quickly.

Leonel entered with a quite amused smile wondering if coming here was a good idea.