A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Elora shrugged nonchalantly in response to Viljar's question. "Two reasons. Firstly, because I don't trust you as much as Erik does. I won't try to convince him to keep you here by force, but neither will I help you if you don't.

As for the second reason…" she suddenly looked a little awkward. "Erik has just reunited with you, and I want to give him the chance to spend some time with you."

Viljar's eyes twitched a little upon hearing Elora's words. "Couldn't I just come back here after I warn Frostfang? It's not like I don't want to spend some time with Erik either!"

But unfortunately, Elora waved her hand dismissively. "No deal. As I said, I don't trust you yet. Besides, there's no guarantee this third-rank Runebound, Frostfang, won't follow you back here."

Not really able to refute her words, frustration passed across Viljar's face as he glanced at Erik almost pleadingly, hoping he would say something to the fairy.

Unfortunately, Erik had no intention of doing so.

He raised his left hand in defense, as his right hand was still caressing Elora, and said, "Despite the fact she calls me Master right now, I don't actually control her."

He lowered his hand and frowned. "But more than that, I have no interest in trying to convince her otherwise. Fact is, while I care about you, Uncle, I don't care about your Enclave. Besides, Elora is right about Frostfang possibly following you back.

On another note, I wholeheartedly suggest you simply accept the Council's offer. Frankly, I prefer the Council's inclusiveness over the Enclave's xenophobia."

While their difference in ideology really was part of his reason for preferring the council, there was something else. The fact was, the farther the council was able to spread its influence, the easier it would be for Elora and him to take over in the future.

They had already laid the groundwork with the council, after all.

Not to mention that if the Silver Enclave joined the council, this Frostfang would become a councilor, making them the third councilor Erik and Elora have some sort of connection with, with the other two being Seraphina's father and Katya.

When the time came, they would be able to exploit those connections to gain some influence in the council and, with some luck and skill, eventually gain control of it.

Or at least, that was the plan.

Viljar looked conflicted after hearing Erik's words. But then sank back into the sofa with a defeated sigh. "There's no way Frostfang and the others will go for that. Even I feel apprehension at the thought."

He scratched his head and did one last chance to convince him, "Would it make any difference if I told you Runa was the Silver Enclave's founder? Or that Frostfang is highly unlikely to make trouble when he finds out who you are?"

Erik chuckled. His mother having founded the Silver Enclave was no big surprise, nor did he particularly care. "Not really. Mom clearly didn't care much about the Enclave, considering that she left it." If his mother didn't care enough about the Enclave to stay, why would he?

Viljar's second point made Erik realize that Frostfang likely knew his mother, which wasn't much of a surprise either, perhaps.

Unfortunately, it didn't make a difference for Erik. "As for Frostfang, highly unlikely is just not good enough. Without sufficient preparation, we simply have no way of dealing with a third-rank Runebound in case he does turn aggressive."

If it actually were Runa asking him, Erik would have likely done whatever he could to keep the Enclave safe. But unfortunately for Viljar, he simply didn't have that kind of pull with Erik, especially not when it included dealing with a game-changing unknown quantity like this Frostfang and his third-rank strength.

Viljar shook his head, "I really don't think Frostfang would ever do anything to you, but…" he sighed, "I understand your concerns and have no way to refute them."

Then he leaned back into the couch as several memories seemed to pass in front of his eyes. "As for your mother… I suppose you're right about her. The Enclave was just a way to survive and a place to leave me and the others at. She was always planning to leave eventually."

Now that the topic had switched to his mother, Erik could no longer contain his curiosity. "Speaking of my mother… Now that I've told you about my last seven years, I think it's time you told me about yours. And about my mother's."

The ginger-haired man perked up and nodded with a soft smile. "Of course!"

Viljar felt no resentment towards Erik for not helping more. After all, he knew Erik had his own matters to handle and no attachment at all to the Silver Enclave. It saddened him, but he understood.

Either way, he certainly wasn't going to keep information about his mother from Erik.

He scratched his head, a little uncertain how to start. "Well, it certainly isn't as interesting a story as yours was."

Erik chuckled at his uncle's comment. "I don't doubt it. But just start at the beginning. How did you and my mother survive that day? Before I ran away, it didn't look like anyone was going to survive."

Viljar looked thoughtful. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure about that myself. Your mother never fully explained. All I know is that, at some point during the fighting, after most of us were already dead, the Earth beneath us started lighting up, and not long after that, the human hunters suddenly started exploding one by one. This was before the awakening started."

Erik immediately asked Elora, through their mental connection, if she had any idea what that light might have been. "Any idea what that was, Elora?"

But he received a mental denial. "I can't be sure." Elora fell silent for a moment as a thoughtful expression appeared on her face. "Though, if I had to guess, considering that aetherium wasn't actually in the air at that point, I'd say it was a kinetic sigil."

Erik frowned and mentally indicated his surprise. "Kinetic sigils? Is it strange that I haven't heard that term before? What are they?" he asked Elora.