Aureus panted as he moved through the remnants of what was, perhaps, a forest at one time. Charred black pillars stretched up to the sky, offering no shade from the noon day sun. Summer was sweltering up here in the northern continent though he supposed the summer in Auster wasn't much better. Right now though they were experiencing winter and the temperatures were a bit more bearable.

Kali padded along beside him, the panther's black pelt seeming to meld and shift as he walked past the trees. Golden eyes turned northward and Aureus paused next to his companion. "That volcano really did a number on these lands," said Aureus. The great cat nodded solemnly and the duo continued. Griff was somewhere flying over head as they continued their journey.

"I wonder what sort of wolves live around here and if any of returned to the region."

Tyrian had gone home. Not permanently of course. For now he was simply scouting and getting a feel for the state of the lands. When he took over Legion he would need to have a return plan in place. No doubt the pack would be wondering when they could go home and Tyrian wanted to be ready with a time frame. It would be a real feather in his cap to be able to give them that information at the meeting after his ascension was announced.

He was on his way home and nearly there when a question posed to a nearby traveler reached his ears. Tyrian, being the nosy, talkative sort, simply couldn't resist interjecting. "This sort," he said, gesturing to himself and then shooting a wry look over at the wolf 'n' cat pair. "And uh...in "this sort's" case...no, not yet. At least not permanently anyway." He shrugged. "Hopefully soon, though. I miss this place. These woods. There's no place like home, right?"

Aureus sniffed about as he tried to pick up remnants of pack scent but it was all tinged in ash and smoke. He couldn't make out anything in particular. Kali didn't even bother to stoop his head but the cats whiskers and ears twitched at the sound of approaching paw steps. He gracefully turned his sleep head, golden eyes staring at the large youth approaching them. Aureus lifted his head as a yearling even taller than himself approached. The youth stated that the pack that used to reside in these lands had not returned, at least permanently.

He nodded in response. "Seems a lot of packs are having that problem. Mine is in Auster, we had to relocate for a bit but we're back now. I hope this forest is able to rebound soon, I wonder how long it will take to grow back." Thankfully, they'd been far enough south not to bear the brunt of it. "What pack are you from, if you don't mind me asking? Had you been in this region long before the volcanic eruption?" Kali settled in next to him, tail wrapping around his paws.

Tyrian nodded in agreement as the stranger asserted that a lot of packs were having that problem. That was true as far as Tyrian could tell. In Sweetgrass Basin the pack had been practically shoulder to shoulder with more than one group for awhile. The West of Boreas had been stuffed to the gills. It seemed over time the groups had spaced out. By now some had even gone home and hopefully Legion would be among that number soon. Tyrian was eager to be home. A little nervous about it too because by then the pack would be under his command. Big changes were in store for him and for Legion.

His pack was in Auster, huh? As far as Tyrian knew there was only one pack in Auster. All he knew about The Risen Empire he'd learned from his father who had rudely reminisced more than once about a hyper religious guy from that family who had taken over Abaven and then at some point fought a crazy man. He was under the impression they were all like that and absently wondered what kind of religious lunacy lurked beneath this stranger's chill facade.

"Years, I imagine," he said quietly in response to Aureus' musing about the forest's regeneration time frame. As for where he was from... "Legion. My family's been in the South for generations." They'd had packs, they'd be rogues, but no matter their group status they'd been there for quite some time. "You're from The Risen Empire, right? Correct me if I'm wrong but that's the only pack in Auster right now."

Aureus listened as the younger man stated that he thought it would take years for the trees and foliage to grow back to what it once was. Aureus nodded. Yea, that sounded about right to him which was a real shame. It made him glad that Auster had fared as well as it had, especially as it was now winter there. Prey was currently congregating in the southern part of the territory but they were slowly migrating back into their usual areas. Which suited Aureus fine. After all Risen had suffered they didn’t need any more hardships such as a lack of prey on top of everything else. The loss of their dad and leader was plenty. Though he also couldn’t help wondering if there were opportunities for trade and other such things if the northern territories were struggling. Perhaps there were resources that Risen could provide.

The young man stated that he was from Legion and that his family had lived there for generations. Aureus only knew a little of the geography and packs that Risen had interacted with directly. He didn’t know much about Legion though he was sure he’d heard the name at the pup tournament a year or so back. He probably even fought some of their wolves though he just couldn’t quite remember. It seemed like ages, lifetimes even, since he’d been that young and that naive.

Aureus nodded to the man’s question. “Yes, that’s correct. I’m from the Risen Empire. My name is Aureus Abraxas.” He was no longer afraid to give his name. The world could take it or leave it but he wasn’t going to hide it any more unless there was a real strategic advantage to doing so. He supposed for a time he’d been ashamed of his name and his heritage but that needed to stop. “What might your name be? I wouldn’t mind hearing more about Legion. You said your pack has been there for generations. Is there one family that runs the pack or has it changed hands several times?”

Total: 1,110

Aureus confirmed what Tyrian suspected. He wondered what it was like to more or less have a whole continent to one's self. Sure there were rogues and less organized collections of wolves, but that wasn't the same. Packs were an institution in their own right. But that was the least interesting thing Aureus had just confirmed. Tyrian was fascinated by the man's last name. He had so many questions for him, but there was a lot he could learn simply by observing whether or not the man as was big a lunatic as Valentine seemed to believe every member of the family to be.

"Name's Tyrian," he said with a smirk. "Tyrian Imperialis. And uh, you misunderstood. My family has been in the South for generations. Legion's only been there for..." He thought about it for a second then said, "Less than one, I suppose. It used to be in the North until my nephew took it over and moved it South for the family." That more or less answered his second question too. "So it's changed hands a couple of times. How about your pack? I wouldn't mind hearing about it either."

"Ahhh I see. I'm so used to family and pack being one and the same." That's how it had always been for the Abraxas but then they were rather unique among wolves, being descended from gods and all. The youth introduced himself as Tyrian Imperialis and he went on to explain that Legion used to be in the north until it was taken over by his nephew. Wait, his nephew? Aureus cast the youth a curious look but opted not to say anything. He had heard of such situations. It wasn't unheard of for an elderly couple to have a late litter that would be younger than their peers in the family.

"Risen has stayed in my family since it's beginnings. It was first started by my great uncle but he had to leave to deal with unrest in the homeland. That's when my father stepped and took it until-" The words died in his throat for a moment and he coughed lightly to clear the lump that was starting to form a knot. "He passed away just recently, thanks to my idiot uncle Archon and that bloody volcano. My brother rules now.” In truth he wasn’t quite sure if Archon was an uncle or a cousin but he didn’t really care. It felt good to say something bad about the wolf out loud.

Although he tried not to look too keen given the brevity of the topic, Tyrian wished to hear more about Aureus' "idiot" uncle Archon. He had so many questions around that man in particular. Was this Archon a pariah, a black sheep, of sorts? The Rhyme of his family, maybe? Tyrian had been under the impression that all Abraxas were loony but perhaps there were different factions. Maybe there were some who didn't think of themselves as gods. It was an interesting thought and if true it would shatter most if not all of his preconceptions.

"Ah," he said glibly, "Archon. There is a name I recognize. I believe he was up to some mischief here in Boreas not all that long ago." Hopefully Aureus would bite and share more about the man and the family in general. If Archon was a black sheep, Tyrian had a feeling Aureus would explain his family as he saw it in order to distance himself from his uncle's heretical ways. That's what he would do it confronted with the notoriety of a member of his family whose actions or words didn't jive with his views.