The Lycan Hunter (The Gardinian World Series) (49 page)

The silence stretched on for what seemed like forever, but when it broke, it was in an eruption of excited, angry, and fearful shouts.

“Shut. Up,” Lykil said. The room was instantly quiet despite his
whispered command. “The Hunters are no longer a group of pests with
insignificant numbers. Like you, they now number in the millions. You
can thank Tuyir for that. I wouldn
’
t, but that has more to do with
the fact that he’s an ungodly prick.”

The second generation Hunters, affectionately named Variants, was a weaker version of their Gen 1 counterparts. They were missing various blessings from the gods who had created the first generation.
Unlike the original Hunters, who had been humans of some prominence –
warriors of note in their day and age – Variant Hunters were societal
rejects. Many were from the world
’
s homeless –– runaways or otherwise –
population. Others were just able-bodied societal castoffs: people who
had nobody to miss them, people who nobody would miss, or those who society wished would go missing.

Tuyir had found them and gave them each a fragment of his essence,
changing them from run-of-the-mill humans to god-blessed soldiers.
He
’
d done all of that and yet he was not the Hunters
’
champion. That
honor – or punishment as it was seen by this particular god – went to Vili, God of Wisdom.

Lykil explained all of the newest developments and anything else
that was in his power to detail for the better part of the day. “Remember,”
he said, “I didn’t ask for this job. You have no idea how much time
my other one takes up. Now I’ll never get a good night’s sleep.”

“You don’t sleep anyway,” Torin said.

“Thanks, that was mean, and they didn’t know that. You know I like to lie on my bed – ”

“You don’t have one – ”

“–and pretend to dream –”

“–and even if you did – ”

“–of fluffy clouds – ”

“–the last thing you’d be doing – ”

“–and unicorns.”

“–
is sleeping.
”
Torin laughed.
“What are you doing to the unicorns?
Eating them?”

Lykil
shook
his hea
d. “Drinking their tears. I hear it grants immortality.”

“You got the myth wrong. Besides you are immortal.”

“So? I didn’t say it made any sense.”

A chair scraped and toppled against the hardwood floor of the
pool house, cutting off Torin and Lykil’s laughter.

“You call yourself our champion, and yet you sit there exchanging
childish repartee with your Hermod? How are we supposed to take you seriously?”

This from an Aleser, the one that no one liked judging by the series
of eye rolls that occurred around the room.

“I don’t
call
myself anything. I
am
your champion. Now sit down before I kill you just to spare the others your irritating presence. As for my Hermod, he received a promotion as well.” Lykil motioned to Torin who wore black linen pants stitched with silver thread. “Since
he is an extension of me, he has become the first Battle Hermod in
existence. He’s not the only one; father said it wasn’t fair if I had one and Vili didn’t.

“They help us help you, which is why you will be able to see them
when they pop up here on Earth. Key words: help you. We are not
fighting this war for you. We ensure that you have whatever you need to endure this battle. Necessities are to be determined by us. Also, this
war remains a secret.”

Lykil answered a few more questions before he returned them to
their respective homes. He sat back on the floor with the twins, who had
fallen asleep, the toy they had been fighting over still held between them.

Alexis and Kyran joined him on the floor. “Champion, huh?”

He paused, his thoughts turned inwards. The gods were cruel
meddlesome bastards and mortals were the ones who fared the worse
in the games of gods.

He smiled to himself, channeling the lyrics of an iconic Queen song.
The Lycans were finally getting a destructive champion for their cause.

“Yeah…Champion.”

~*~

Afri:
Goddess of Love, former love interest of Lykil, and current on-again, off-again lover of Tuyir.

Alpha:
In the Lycan world, Alpha signifies that the Lycan is dominant
rather than a submissive Omega. There are other titles to determine the leader of Lycan groups (see Mikko/Mikkoyi).

Ardethen:
A ritual performed that passes the leadership to a leader’s
chosen successor. This ritual is usually performed when an aging leader
is seeking to relinquish control with Ulryk’s blessing.

Doctrine of Liflasir:
The Gardinian holy book. It is written by the
gods. Any updates written within the book by the gods will automatically
appear in all copies of the book throughout the four worlds.

Ethus:
The Goddess of Mankind, Goddess of the Subconscious, and Goddess of the dream world (Oblivia).

Feral (Lycan):
A Lycan who slaughters without identifiable purpose.
They don
’
t care for maintaining the most basic tenants of the war,
namely keeping it a secret.

First Shift:
A Lycans first official shift, which is tied to their inborn
strength and their ability to resist the moon’s pull. Lycans can shift as
early as their thirteenth birthday. It is extremely rare for a Lycan to have
their First Shift after their thirtieth birthday.

Forever War:
The war that began more than eight thousand years
a
go after the creation of the Lycans and the Hunters, who were tasked
to kill all Lycans.

Fredys:
Goddess of Fertility.

Gardas:
The home of the gods, their Hermods, and all other
Gardinian beings.

Gava:
The exchange of gifts, like a dowry, given to the bride from
her family.

Gavatta:
The gift of taking which is given to the bride’s family in thanks for their blessing upon the union.

Gavattage:
The gift of giving which is presented to the bride-to-be
by the groom. The gift solidifies the groom’s intent of marriage.

Godtrande:
The gift of acceptance which is given by the bride-to-be
to her intended groom as a formal acceptance of his proposal.

Gronak:
The isle of eternal punishment. Souls judged to spend their ten thousand lifetimes on the island suffer under the weight of the chaos found in a world of anarchy.

Hermod:
Messengers to the gods, though some serve individual gods in a more hands-on capacity, much like a personal assistant.

Hunters:
The earliest Hunters were humans imbued with blessings
from the gods that enabled them to see and kill Lycans. (
see also
, Variants).

Ilok:
One of the giant animated tree-like beings that stands guard
at the entrance to Gardas proper. He offers the physical challenge that
one must pass in order to enter Gardas. Souls that belong to the dead do not face the challenge.

Imel:
The isle of eternal reward. Souls judged to spend their ten thousand lifetimes on the island enjoy a time of personalized heaven.

Ire:
Goddess of Health.

Jordis:
Goddess of Weaponry.

Jormun:
The God of Liars and Thieves.

Judgment:
The final judgment of a soul, performed in Gardas
after the Passing. Souls that do not receive a Passing can find their
way to Gardas and their Judgment if they allow the pull that leads
them into the airy light of Gardas proper.

Larka:
One of the four worlds within the branches of Liflasir and the home planet of the Luri, Vivy, and Mages.

Lelah:
Goddess of Life, formally Goddess of Life and Death.

Liflasir:
The world tree that holds the four worlds within its limb
s.

Lykil:
The God of Destruction.

Mares of Night:
Refers to night mares; also known as Raxim – mythological horses found on Duringrie.

Meihleh:
The river of souls that contains the life essences of the
former angels and demons created by Nivar, as well as the souls of
those who failed to pass the challenges given by Ilok and Plienir.

Mikko/Mikkoyi:
The formal title of the leader of a pack. Mikko is the masculine form, Mikkoyi is the feminine form of the title.

Nivar:
The God of Creation.

Nunginn:
The grove of all life energy from which all new life is
created. Souls that have spent ten thousand lifetimes on Imel or Gronak
return here to be reborn, their deeds (good and bad) wiped free to
start anew.

Oblivia:
Dream realm where Ethus, Goddess of Mankind and
Dreams, calls home.

Omega:
In the Lycan world, Omega
denotes a Lycan is submissive
rather than a dominant Alpha.

Othion:
God of the Sky, father to Narn, who is the goddess of
the wild and creator of the Lycans.

Passing:
A funeral-like ceremony which sends the soul into Gardas
to be judged.

Plienir:
One of the giant animated tree-like beings that stands
guard at the entrance to Gardas proper. She offers the mental challenge
that one must pass in order to enter Gardas. Souls that belong to the dead do not face the challenge.

Rengoring:
The rite of cleansing. The bodies of those to be wed a
re treated with the utmost care through strict diet, prayer, and various
other relaxation and purification techniques.

Rogue (Lycan):
A Lycan who engages in seemingly random and unprovoked killings. However, they have their own reasons and will generally stay just under the radar of humans, but their carnage isn’t missed by the Hunters.

Soul Seeing:
also Seeing or to See;
Works like "love-at-first-sight" does but does not always happen at the first interaction between two people. Sometimes, the soul has to grow into the right kind of match
for the two souls to be right for each other. For Lycans, the implications
of Soul Seeing is equivalent to finding a Soul’s Mate.

Soul’s Mate:
A concept suggesting that the soul has its own sense
of self and knows what it wants and needs in a mate. A Soul’s Mate is the soul’s perfect match for the Lycan.

Thamal:
The mountainous island which houses temples of all the
gods. The only exception is Ethus, who lives exclusively within Oblivia.

Torin:
Lykil’s personal Hermod. He is considered his most trusted
friend. He is also Alexis’ brother and Camden and Aryana’s uncle.

Trobis:
The Gardinian marbled bridge that leads from the branches of Liflasir into Gardas.

Tuyir:
God of War, lover to Afri, general pain in the ass to Lykil.

Tyllaga:
The official proposal ceremony, performed three days
before the actual wedding ceremony.

Ulryk:
The God of Kings and Queens.

Unexplained:
Generally equates to magic. Named such as the source
of the magic is unknown.

Var:
Goddess of Adultery.

Variants:
Hunters who lack the blessings of the gods who created
the first generation of Hunters. Variants are also societal cast-off, rather
than warriors of prominence like their first generation counterparts.

Vili:
God of Wisdom

Zombeir:
The one of the four worlds within the branches of Liflasir
and home planet of the dragons.

Kelsey Jordan is the author of
The Lycan Hunter
, the first book
in her Gardinian World series. Though she has a preference for all
things paranormal and romantic, Kelsey admits she just writes what her muse demands of her. It’s less painful that way. When she isn’t
enjoying the momentary benefits of playing god to the many characters
that live in her head, she can usually be found curled up with a book
, killing something in a video game, or spending time with her family.
At some point in the day she is probably drinking more than her
recommended dose of coffee, but don’t tell her that. She doesn’t care about recommended servings.

As a Texas native and self-described Air Force brat, Kelsey now lives in
Georgia with her husband and their tutu-wearing minion.

You can find Kelsey Jordan and the latest Gardinian news at
http://kelseyjordangw.com
.

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