The Games for Gaiathal (Part 3 of 'A Tale of People and Apples Trilogy')

Chapter 2: Brothers by Blood

"But... how?" Luka said, bewildered, falling to the sand as he looked upon the Wolf before him.

Verrae put his glove back on, and walked slowly to his younger brother. He offered him his hand to help him up, but Luka hesitated, eyes wide and analyzing the man dressed in pitch black.

"How can we be sure you're his brother? We can see that you're a Wolf, but saying you're Luka's brother is another thing altogether," Calysa said to the man.

"I agree. But even you could see, and hear, the similarity in us both, Orca," Verrae said, motioning his hand between him and his supposed brother, Luka. "Come with us, and I can prove it. It is fate we are reunited, Luka. The golden Trees have shown their will."

Calysa looked away back to the ocean. It was an extraordinary claim this man was making, but not an outrageous one. She was amazed at how similar the two were, their voices so alike and appearance so strikingly similar. They could have been twins, except for the noticeable difference in age.

"Then who are you?" Calysa asked the woman Wolf, lightly pushing her away from her vicinity, still too close in her personal space for her liking.

"My name is Wantara Trosh. My father, Veenta, was your mother Chrea's best friend, Luka. And the other original Wolf Host."

She said the words quietly, but her way of speaking, or perhaps the weight that the words carried, sliced through the air before it met Calysa's and Luka's ears. She reminded Calysa of Talia the Tiger, if Talia's fire was replaced by equally potent ice. Her skin was as dark as Talia's was pale and she was as beautiful.

"You're both Hosts," Luka said, stunned.

The last three Wolves all happen to be Hosts? Calysa thought to herself. The chances appeared astronomical. Calysa watched uneasily as she saw in Luka's eyes what always was his detriment. He began to show the familiar weakness which always caused him to falter.

"Where have you been all this time? How did you survive the War on the Wolves?" Calysa said, more cautious of the strangers than Luka was.

Verrae took back his hand as he realized Luka was too stunned to react, too stunned to touch his brother yet. "An Outlander, an innocent Outlander, saved us during the massacre, and raised us in the mountains of Dazheen. I used to be two years older than you, Luka. But we've been here for almost three quarters of a revolution of the sun while on this Lost Continent. Which makes me almost three years your senior," Verrae said and laughed.

It was refreshing for both Calysa and Luka to hear that they were correct about time perception on the new continent, that they weren't going crazy about the position of the sun and how time moved faster through their bodies. Yet it was still insane to hear and comprehend.

But Calysa scoffed as she did the mental math in her head. If Verrae the Wolf was truthful, it meant that he and Wantara somehow navigated through Solan's entire armada, undetected, the day before.

"You expect us to believe that you two apparently arrived the same time an Outlander army set sail to this continent? And just happened to come across our tent by chance?" Calysa said.

"I don't expect you to believe anything. By all means, continue your distrust of me, Orca. Yet the truth is, we sailed from the west coast of Dazheen yesterday and we have found you here today."

This explained how they apparently missed Solan's fleet. They circled the planet from the west. But Calysa was still unconvinced.

"Luka was also saved from Dazheen, saved by Lleyton Alva and raised by Outlanders. Except they were hardly 'innocent'," Calysa said sternly, demanding answers. "How can we be so sure you're not brainwashed as well? Or are truly Outlanders in Wolves clothing?"