In a blur of motion, Franklin run at me. Yards before he bowled me over, the badgerkin jumped into the air and struck the ground so hard that his feed sunk into the earth, sending out a ripple that made me brace myself to avoid falling over.

It was quite the spectacle, and it was made all the more absurd once you took a moment to consider what he was decked out in… On second thought, I wasn't sure why I was surprised. He was wearing a long— No, excessively long fur cloak over his shoulders. Really, the fucking thing stretched out across the ground for like twenty feet, and it was so heavy that if he drug it back and forth a few more times, he would be plowing a field.

To keep the ridiculous cloak attached to him, his upper body was encaged in some elaborate copper chest piece engraved with two arms clasping wrists in the front. Between his fur skirt and the copper plate, which could act as an anchor for a ship, his skin was covered in patterns in different colored paints. His feet were bare and surprisingly hairy, with the outfit topped with a horned helm perched atop his head.

Turning away like I didn't know the man, I started walking away, pretending to look for the one he was talking to. I only made it a single step before a vice-like grip latched onto my arm. With the implacable force of a mountain, the clamp attached to my body pulled me back and around to face the other man.

"Let the ceremony begin!" Franklin shouted. At his words, the ground vibrated, and he gave me a little shove, forcing me back a step. A good thing, too, as a stone basin as large as my chest sitting atop a pedestal rose from the ground between me and the badgerkin.

A wave of shouts and exclamations filled the courtyard around me, and I turned to look at the crowd, only to flinch as I felt a tremor of fear run through me. Besides the pedestal, pillars and a railing were growing from the ground a few feet away all around us, along with hundreds of hooded figures arranged in circles farther out. At the edges of this display, but quickly moving farther out, was another ring of bodies, a growing number of which were piled up on the ground. Understandable as they lost their balance at some point when the literal ground under their feet was rapidly moving them dozens of yards to get them out of the badgers' way.

Catching some motion to the side, I turned, seeing one of the crimson-robed figures slowly walking through the ground toward us, his head bowed and his wide left sleeve entering his right. Seconds passed while the figure approached, and in that time, the construction around me formed into a stone gazebo while all of the badgers finished rising from the ground.

It was an impressive display of coordination and spellcraft that was only slightly ruined because Franklin's stupidly long cape had to be quickly moved into the gazebo to avoid covering the closer badgers. It also didn't help that the fur made a miniature half-circle mountain around him that was three-fourths of his height.

Yanking me out of my shock, I turned to the approaching Kin, who had just stopped an arm's length from the pedestal. In a raspy voice that still boomed out with power, the hooded man proclaimed, "We have gathered here to witness the union of blood brothers!"

"Blood Brothers!" chorused all the other hooded figures.

"Extend your arms, Blood Brothers!"

"Blood Brothers!"

I mentally scrambled to think of anything to escape this situation, but at this point, I was well and truly trapped, and I knew it. Reluctantly, I stretched out my arm above the stone bowl, meeting Franklin's arm that was waiting for me. He latched onto my forearm and twisted our linked arms to the side, putting his arm on the bottom.

With a flash of movement, the hooded figure's right hand snapped out, and I felt a flash of pain. Franklin twisted our arms again so the wounds were facing down, and the welling blood mixed and dripped into the stone basin.

"You are now Blood Brothers!" Declared the hooded figure.

"Blood Brothers!" Cheered all the other badgers around us as they threw off their cloaks and started hugging and slapping everyone around them on the back. That was one way to describe what was happening. Really, it looked like they were trying to knock each other over…

"Yes," Screamed a large Kin off to my left as he stood over the body of another badger, "I won!"

As one, every badger turned, their eyes glowing red as they faced the pair, "Capture the sacrifices!" Ordered Faction Leader Barlot, who had also discarded his robe and was pointing at the… unlucky pair? Except the pair was smiling while standing back to back, their claws and arms wide as they swiped at the increasingly numerous badgers surrounding them.

I opened my mouth to ask a reasonable, "What the fuck is happening?" But the words died in my mouth.

Snarls of the vicious, bloodthirsty animals pretending to be Kin filled the courtyard, followed a moment later by screams of panic and fear. Olimpian men and women fell over each other in their efforts to get away from what they were assuming were savage beasts… I honestly couldn't say they were wrong.

The other Kin within their ranks tried to shout and tell everyone that there was nothing to worry about and that they should just enjoy the show, but their words meant little. Who cared about words when bodies were being thrown about and blood was being spilled. The only effect the other Kin had was adding to the pandemonium.

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At that moment, without warning, the ground beneath my feet gave way, and I fell a few feet before my backside slammed into the ground, and I started sliding down a dark tunnel. It was only a few seconds before the darkness around me vanished, and I found myself rolling over the ground of a cave lit by clumps of glow stones on the walls.

As I was getting up to fight or scream at whatever Kin was around me to get some answers, the words died on my tongue. Before I knew it, my hand was on the hilt of my hunting knife, and my back was to the wall as I watched those on the other side of the too-small chamber.

By this point, I had seen quite a few badgerkins. They all had multiple scars over their bodies, they were quick to start a fight, and they generally looked like meatheads. But for the most part, they all had the air of… carefree frivolity. Everything they did seemed to be all in good fun, even if it would be a brawl by Olimpian standards.

Across the room were dozens of badgers, and there was nothing carefree about them. Stone, earth, metals, and crystals covered their bodies in armor. No two were the same, but I recognized people equipped for war when I saw them. More than that, I knew the look in these old bastards' eyes.

They regarded me as a potential threat, and there would be none of the "playful" batting around that was happening up above. If I was attacked by these gray old badgers, then my chest would be caved in or sliced to the spine. An idea they seemed to be warming up to as they started shuffling closer to me, distorted snarls echoing out of their armor.

"I didn't mean to intrude into your nice cave," I said, shuffling my way over to the hole I came out of, "I'll just be on my—

"Ya'r not going anywhere," Barlot said as he walked out of a wall. "And get back to ya'r stations, ya patchy mats. Don't ya half walls to glower at instead of scaring guests?"

"Say's an incompetent windbag who takes unnecessary risks. Perhaps, even stepping past ya'r authority." Said the figure clad in what looked like emerald armor, taking a step forward.

At the comment, Barlots face went blank, and he started rolling his shoulders one after another, causing them to crack with the movements. Somehow, he also seemed to grow taller. However, with his diminutive stature, it wasn't that big of an effect. But who the fuck cared about height when the older Kin was suddenly radiating the power to punch his arm through your chest and out the other side. After working himself up, he growled, "Ar' ya challenging me?"

Tension filled the air as the two older Kin stared into each other's eyes, and then the one leading the armored figures snorted, his gaze shooting over to me. "If ya are correct about this one, then no. But should our heritage be damaged or lost, ya will bear the consequences."

"We have already covered this Emerald Keeper," Scoffed Barlot. "Keep ya'r dry and cracked nose out of my business and stare at some more walls."

"Yes, we have, yet it bears repeating, this is not a matter that can be taken lightly." Apparently, the older emerald badger was finished with his comments and was stepping back and to the side of the chamber, going as still as a statue when he rejoined the others.

Slowly taking my eyes off of the group at the far end of the room, I turned to find Franklin at my side, not noticing when he arrived. Hand moving to clamp over the gash on my arm that was still weeping blood, I asked the badger, "What is happening, and why am I here?"

"What!" Gasped Franklin, stumbling back and clutching his chest, "You don't like our blood brother ceremony!?"

Holding up my hand, I started ticking off points, "If that ceremony wasn't some kind of joke or distraction, I'll eat my shirt. You obviously want me alone for something because in all the time we have been traveling together, you have never once mentioned any of this being necessary… So why am I here?"

"Humph," Grunted Faction Leader Barlot. "I guess that there is something between your ears after all. And you are right. No ceremony is needed to confirm two blood brothers who have already fought and bled together; such events are pompous and unnecessary."

The badger sounded affronted at the varied thought of it happening, seemingly forgetting what was happening overhead, "Then why did we have one?"

"What?" Asked back Barlot, surprised. "Ya can put together we ar' isolating ya for some purpose in the heat of the moment, but ya can not think that we would intentionally have a customary celebration to create that moment?"

I opened my mouth and found that I had nothing to say. He had a point, and I had already experienced that at least some of the badger's obtuse obliviousness was intentional. Having a customary tradition to do so was right up their alley.

"We don't need a traditional ceremony to have fun and party!" declared Franklin, "But it is our ancestor's sacred teaching to have as many traditions and ceremonies as possible that draw other factions in, so they provide most of the beer and food."

Everyone but me in the chamber gasped in horror at Franklin's words, showing that they all were listening in and watching me no matter how still they stood. Some of the armored ones even staggered to lean against the wall, suddenly unable to keep themselves standing without support.

"What?" Franklin asked, looking around, "We ar' here to show him the Crystal of the First Elder; if we can trust him with that knowledge, why not this, too?"

Shaking his head in disappointment, Faction Leader Barlot ushered Franklin and me while muttering to himself, "There are secrets among secrets, Franklin. Secrets among Secrets." Even the elder badgers we were passing shook their heads, causing Franklin to hunch his shoulders in shame.

Entirely fed up with the situation and wanting to get whatever this was over with, I silently passed through the dozen armored badgers and down a couple more flights of stairs and chambers, all of which had more guardians in each of them. Within minutes, we reached a chamber that was distinctly different from the smooth walls of the rest of the complex.

I stood at the entrance of the rough, natural-looking cave that was about twenty yards long and five wide and tall. The cave was well let with cubbies cut into the stone walls, with the insides filled with glow stones. At the far end was a skeleton, and above the crossed legs and hands laying atop each other was a five-inch tall diamond floating and spinning in the air.

Hand grasping my shoulder, Franklin stood at my side, determination shining in his eyes. "We must grab the crystal and absorb the memories it contains." He stated, "That is why we are here."

Suddenly, I felt like I was floating down a river. That events were taking place, and I was just along for the ride. "Why." I rasped, my mouth suddenly dry.

"Because it is past time for some secrets to be made known," Barlot answered, his voice solemn. "Are you prepared to bear the burden of knowing them?"

Indecision gripped me for a fraction of a second, then my back straightened. Yes, I am. I decided, stepping forward with Franklin until we stood an arm's length before the figure. Taking a moment to look into my blood brother's eyes, we nodded once before reaching out simultaneously and grabbing the floating object, the world going white at the contact.

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