Spyridon never had to think about his next course of action. It had been drilled into him from the day he had been born. Unlike some other sects of his mother's religion, they did not immediately kill their young boys. Instead, they were groomed from birth and trained to be exactly whatever it was they needed to be. Spyros had been trained as a consort, and it was his duty to serve the Nereides wherever he was sent. He had been a favorite of his mother and grandmother, something he held onto with great pride.
The consort had traveled many miles from Hippo Tang cove, Keto's land in the south where the weather was balmy and warm year-round. Here, though, he could feel the unfamiliar chill in the air and the way the clouds hung in the sky day in and day out. Today, like many other days, was overcast and dreary. It made him long for his home, but he knew this was his place. He had heard rumors of Keto's sister's relative staking her claim here, and he was meant to be for her.
Standing on the shore, to the south of Ankyra Sound, the humble Spyridon called for his new queen.
This will be my first warden trade for Aella :D
The adept had a task as a part of the Nereides, her place was as an Amazon, as a protector, as a warden, so her instinct pulled her towards the calling howl that summoned Akatie in the borders. Although it called specifically for the Matriarch, Aella decided that no meeting would be before She made sure it was safe enough for the priestess to show up, so she rushed through the titanic trees that acted as sentinels of the sound until the treeline turned into shore, and there, the crimson Amazon skidded at the sight of a dark male.
"What do you want, Male." she barked from a safe distance, almost deeming the visitor as an intruder. "You call for our Matriarch, do you know her?" she asked holding her tail high. Intruders were not treated kindly by Aella, specially males, but if he had matters with Akatie to solve he deserved the Warden's attention.
As soon as Spyro caught sight of the approaching female, his ears slicked against his skull, his tail twisted beneath his body, and he licked his lips with a whine. In essence, he was making himself as small as possible. He backed further away from her as she approached, but did not turn tail and run. Due to his upbringing, Spyridon knew that he was not to speak until he was spoken to. And even then, only if a question was asked of him.
“Ένα δώρο,” he replied in the only tongue he had been taught to speak, “Είμαι ένα δώρο για εσάς.” His voice was eager and willing as he spoke, voice smooth and certain. “Είμαι Σπυρίδων.” If he was in the right place, she would understand. If he was not, he would continue until he found the place he was intended to go.
I never know if what I write is ok :P
Aella watched carefully the male's actions and examined his posture with contempt, but it was when he spoke in the mother's tongue that the Adept understood the male's interest in Ankyra. "Ένα δώρο?" she asked as she rose her head and relaxed her muscles. Akatie was a well recognized Siren amongst the Nereides, so it wouldn't be a surprise if this was the first of many "gifts" from other branches of their culture in form of recognition for the foundation of her own branch in the sound.
"Ποιος σας έστειλε, δούλες? Όταν έρχεσαι?" she questioned giving two steps forward, with a posture that expressed her ease, but that didn't show any sign of trust towards the male. Not many wolves knew the old tongue, so it was a surprise when the male used it, which increased his chances of Aella buying his story.
Patiently, he waited. Spyro knew that they would grant him entrance once they understood why he had been sent here. He would serve them as he had been bred and born to do, just like his brothers had done. He thought of all the women as his sisters and mothers, and he loved each and every one of them. If the sea and moon were goddesses, the sisters and mothers were some other deity that he was meant to worship. And worship he did.
Politely, the male answered Aella's questions in a matter of few words. With only the mention of Keto Nereides and his origins was sufficient for the Adept to consider the visitor as friendly, but as a warden, Aella's duty extended to filter any possible danger from crossing the borders, either in, or out of the territory, so it was only natural for her to feel suspicious of the so called Keto grandson.
She looked at the male in the eyes for a long moment, they say the eyes are the window to the soul, and that if you look carefully enough you could see a gleam on them when a lie was told, and the Amazon believed in this, that the eyes are the worst betrayers of lies. But, unsurprisingly, for as hard as she tried, she couldn't find what she was looking for. The man was clean, or at least that's what Aella believed.
However, it still wasn't enough to let him cross so easily. "Πείτε μου περισσότερα" the Adept demanded in a cold tone, if he managed to convinced her, then Aella would call for the Matriarch to welcome him herself.
"Είναι περισσότερες πληροφορίες που χρειάζεστε εκεί;" he asked humbly, wishing only to please this new sister. The trek from Hippo Tang Cove to here had been a lonely one, and Spyridon wanted nothing more than to be with mothers and sisters again. He had never bonded with any of the other consorts, nor did he ever have a desire to. They were merely tools, just like himself, and what they did would not concern him. That was not to say he had no warmth for them, though. He had helped to teach some of the spawn their place in the culture he had always known.
The Adept listened carefully to the male's well rehearsed speech, he sounded just like any other consort, like a brain washed slave, which in Nereides terms would be a well trained and obedient servant, a good sign.
"Καλό παιδί" the amazon said with a smirk and relaxing her tail. Then she rose her muzzle to the sky to announce the male's arrival to Akatie with a melodic tone that versed as it follows:
We have a visitor from Hippo Tang Cove,
A male by the name...
And then she realized she hadn't caught his name before so her song was abruptly interrupted. She lowered her head with what could be called remorse, "Sorry, what was your name again?" she asked narrowing her eyes, but just when he was about to speak it struck her like a lightning. "Oh, I know it, Spyridon, right? Sorry..." she said, and again she lifted her snout to resume the announcement
Spyridon!
Grand-spawn [size=xx-small](pun intended)[/size] of Keto Nereides.
Ελάτε, Σπυρίδων, εγώ θα σας μεταφέρει στο Matriarch μας τώρα. she said, and turned to rush through the woods, heading for the beach where Akatie spent most of her time.
Spyro's tail wagged swayed behind him at her praise, a pleasant (and perhaps a bit dumb) smile resting on his lips. She spoke in another tongue, mentioning him by name, and he furrowed his brow, but it seemed she needed nothing from him. Assuming she had merely been talking to herself, Spyridon waited patiently as his mother-sister called for the leader. A howl was devoid of language, carrying feelings rather that words, so he could hear what she intended even if she had spoken French or German.
She spoke again, and although some deep-down impulse him to ask for her name, he did not, having long ago been taught to suppress such urges. The mother-sister turned and fled, and he darted after her, keeping pace behind her as she led the way to the leader he was intended to be a gift for. He could only hope that he would live up to her expectations. But perhaps he was unexpected. The details of his departure had not been given to him, nor had he ever asked.
Aella winked at the male's lively reaction and smirked in approval, but still held the serious posture with her body. The docile style suited him, he was even cute, but an Adept would never admit that kind of stuff to others. The kind of males Aella had to deal with were all very similar to this one, reserved, pliable, responsive, and she found all of those traits quite amusing, and in some cases, even cute.
After sprinting for a while through the woods, Aella slowed down until she was running but a few leaps ahead of him, just enough for the consort to hear her loud and clear. "Είμαι Aελλα, από τον τρόπο ..." she barked between gasps, "Μιλάτε την κοινή γλώσσα, Σπυρίδων;" she asked, many, if not all of the wolves in the pack were fluid in the common wolfish tongue, and it proved to be very useful everywhere, so if the male did as well, it would be an advantage both for him, and for the whole pack.
Spyro's only contact with outsiders had been chasing off intruders. Even during the journey from Hippo Tang Cove to Ankyra Sound he had avoided contact with any of the others, knowing that they were full of wicked things. Unless he was instructed to learn the common tongue, he would continue down this path.
Aella never quite understood what the male stigma was all about. She didn't even care so much about them as to put them in such slavic and barbarian position, but that's the culture she had grown up in, and it was the one she would live in for the rest of her days, so she left the male deals to the other sisters, who beside having the patience, they knew they ways to work men.
Εντάξει...
Aella said with disinterest. Her task now was taking him to Akatie and let her decide what to do about the male. And that's exactly where the Amazon was taking him. They reached the cliffs after running across the Megalith forest, and The Adept stood in the edge, facing the male who ran behind her the whole time; and with her muzzle she signaled the way down to the Beach, where the matriarch would assign him his place.
Spyridon followed with ease, falling into step without any hesitation at all. Soon, he would be greeted by Aktaie, explain his purpose here (when asked to do so), and make himself useful in whatever ways he was intended to. His life here, he presumed, would be no different than the life he had led back at Hippo Tang Cove. There were a new set of sisters and mothers to attend to, but that was all. Everything else would fall into place in no time.