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AARYN

His heart swelled with pride as Elreth took her feet and waited for all eyes to turn to her. In the exact opposite of his own feelings, Elreth always seemed most comfortable when she had an audience, when she could express what she knew to be true to a waiting crowd.

Fuck, she was beautiful.

"It\'s good to see you all," she said, loudly and clearly, her voice echoing through the market. "I\'m sorry you\'ve seen so little of me since the Smoke and Flames. It has been a dramatic time and I\'ve been busy making sure our people are safe and we understand exactly what\'s happening in our Kingdom."

There was a murmur of approval—and some of disgruntlement. The older Anima in particular liked to see their rulers a lot. Aaryn made a mental note to push himself to get her here, to the market, more often.

"I come to you tonight—spread word to make sure as many of you were here as possible—because I have an important announcement. Three, in fact. This will be as unexpected to you as it was to me, I\'m sure. But know that part of the reason I\'ve been absent has been so that I could make sure I fully understood what was occurring, so I could make wise decisions with the help of your elders. And so that I could bring this to you clearly.

"We are entering a new stage in Anima history. I hadn\'t intended to usher in change, but change has come—first because I am here, and secondly, because we have a gracious Creator who has offered a warning, and because we have learned that we also have a difficult enemy. And obstacle to overcome. And I am here tonight, Anima, to tell you how me might do that."

She paused to let them digest that. The market was near silent, those who\'d been around for the war suddenly nervous. The young excited.

Aaryn prayed they would hear her clearly and take what she had to say to heart.

"My first news is, actually, ancient. We have learned in the past few days that there was a prophecy given to our people hundreds of years ago that heralded this time in our history. You are living the truth of the Creator\'s prophecy, Anima!" She took a breath and the entire market was silent. "Learning about this has cleared our confusion on some events that have occurred in the WildWood over the past few weeks. But I can now share with you that we are aware of both a serious danger to our people and our future, and of the saving grace the Creator has provided."

Aaryn\'s heart swelled as Elreth warmed to her task and her shoulders went back. She fixed her people with eyes glinting like steel, her alpha power thrumming in the air.

"The humans have discovered Anima," she said.

A gasp rippled through the gathered crowd, but Elreth didn\'t give them time to discuss it, she continued confidently.

"We did not know that this event was prophesied, but we now do. And we know how the Creator has provided for us to defeat any attack—or rather, who.

"You all know I have been convicted since my cub days of the value and strength of the disformed. But some of you argued that their lack, as you saw it, meant there was something wrong with them. Well, I am here as your Queen, as your Alpha, as the dominant over your tribe to tell you that the disformed are actually perfect—exactly as they were created to be. They are the tools the Creator will use to deliver us safely from the outstretched hands of human enemies, too many to count."

The ripple became a frantic murmur, but Elreth raised her voice, her face stern. "You are safe, Anima, because of the disformed among you. They are a gift, and one that I, as Queen, will use and be grateful to do so.

"But knowing this now, we can no longer allow the disformed to be pushed to the edges of our society. While your strengths have carried the Anima to this point and I am grateful to you for it, now the time has come for the disformed to step forward and fulfill the purpose they were born for. 

\'To facilitate this, I make two declarations to you this evening. For those of you who remember the days following my birth, the tensions with the bears, and the challenges faced by my father as dominant... you will remember the banishment of Gahrye, my mother\'s Advisor, and a disformed equine.

"I now rescind the ban against this male. As the reader of the winds who received the prophecy, he has remained faithful to the Creator and His purpose, even while separate from us. From this day forward, he and any disformed that followed him to the human world will be welcome again in Anima. In fact, I have… insisted that they return to tell us what they know of the humans. If you have grieved the absence of a disformed loved one for years, you may have the chance to reunite soon."

Aaryn watched the crowd carefully, trying to measure their responses. Shock was foremost among all. But he did see a few teary females—likely mothers or dear friends of some of the disformed who had left and been forgotten by their people. 

He also saw tight faces—eyes narrowed and lips twisted in distaste, though fewer than he\'d expected. Scanning the crowd, he caught sight of Gar at the back of the market, standing in the main aisle, his arms across his broad chest. He was surrounded by a group of the disformed, males mostly, but all of them trained as Protectors. 

Gar smiled when their eyes met, then cut his glance to a table of serpents to his left. Aaryn followed his gaze, then nodded slightly. Some of those he\'d just been watching. 

Gar leaned into the ear of the tall male next to him, who listened, then turned on his heel, tipping his head at a few of the others. They all shifted to put themselves near the table of the serpents Gar had indicated. 

Aaryn smiled grimly. There was a shift in the winds and Gar would pursue it relentlessly. 

Then Elreth\'s voice punched through his thoughts and Aaryn\'s heart raced.

"To further facilitate both the unity among our people as a whole, and the growth of the disformed as a people, I announce tonight that we will be holding the Rite of Veneration.. In a few days, the disformed will be given the opportunity to prove their worth and should they succeed, they will be acknowledged as a tribe in their own Rite."