"How dare you call the leader of our race by such a name?" Came the angry cry from the mouth of one of the elders.
"Indecent child, we will teach you how to behave in front of those older than you." Another elder spoke up.
"Insolent child! You deserve death for your words." A third shouted and more followed his example, although the essence of their words was the same.
However, Wandi did not move an inch, he was like a rock emerging from the stormy sea. On his face was still the same faint smile that he had uttered his sentence with, his gaze still focused only on the small structure, it seemed that he would not care if the palace collapsed around him. He would still have stood there motionless, like a statue.
Alkekengi, right behind him, had already bared her teeth and leaned forward, spreading her fingers as if she were preparing to jump on someone and start a bloody fight. Only the spirits know how much she would have enjoyed it if she had actually had to do it. The entire room was filled with growling sounds, shouting and cursing, in the cacophony of sounds, no one could hardly hear their own thoughts.
"Enough!" A confident voice also spoke, which was enough to silence the entire room. It was not loud, it did not shout, but it still silenced everyone. In its wake, everyone present simultaneously looked at the structure in which the leader of the danovus rested. Usually no one could see the leader of the people, but now a figure emerged from behind the materials hung in front of the door with a regal aura and measured steps.
Although Virdar's movements did not show how nervous he really was, there was a glimmer of doubt mixed with hope in his eyes, the kind that only a few can recognize, only those who know the person very well. The smile on Wandi's face only widened when he saw the other danovus. No one dared to speak, it had been a long time since the leader of the danovuses had set foot outside the structure assigned to him. This day was getting stranger and stranger for the great council of the danovuses.
"Holden?" The quiet, almost trembling question came from the mouth of the leader of the danovus, which made Wandi chuckle.
"Long time no see, Little Virvir." The Vojk heir greeted the other danovus, only to have Virdar appear before him in an instant and, to the greatest surprise of all those watching them, kneel down before the boy. He lowered his head, as if the lord of the world was standing before him. A relieved smile rested on his face and he even closed his eyes.
"I fulfilled your request, sir, I maintained order among the members of our race. I did not disappoint." Virdar said solemnly, but the reaction he received was not at all what he expected. He secretly expected recognition, or a little praise, or something like that, but he did not get it.
"I already told you that there is no need for this." Wandi rolled his eyes, and his words made Virdar raise his head in surprise. "So get your ass off the ground before I kick you." The boy folded his arms in front of him and grimaced.
"Yes, sir! Excuse me, sir!" The taller vampire jumped to his feet. Virdar was a soldier and a warrior in his life, he followed orders immediately and precisely. So now he acted on instinct and only half a moment later he realized that something was wrong, as a result of which he blinked and looked down at the hegin who was two heads smaller than him. He furrowed his eyebrows and even started to grimace. "What happened to you? The last time I saw you, you weren't this small." Virdar looked at the $anovus standing in front of him again, whereupon he laughed.
"I think there's no need for me to be like this here." Wandi raised his hands a little and looked at his palms, then closed his eyes and snapped with his right hand.
In response to the sound, his shape changed, his height lengthened, he was already as tall as Virdar, his facial features became sharper, and his clothes became something that most danovuses present had never seen before. It was the clothes of the old times, from a time when the order known to most people in the world did not yet exist. When Wandi opened his eyes, they glowed in a purple-red light characteristic of the danovuses.
"What in the broken nail is this?" Physalis Alkekengi suddenly asked, and this was enough for Wandi to turn to her and smile.
"Thank you, Alkekengi." The hegin said, even his voice changed a little, he sounded older and more serious, but his words only achieved that the woman started to grimace more.
"What? What is going on here?" She demanded answers, whereupon Wandi sighed and turned to her, taking a deep breath.
"I am Danovus Holden, our species exists because of me." Wandi announced in a calm voice.
As a result of his statement, the room began to buzz again, all the elders knew about Danovus Holden, but almost no one saw him. The father of the danovus race did not like to be in front of watching eyes. Virdar was the only one he met in person and not just recived their orders through letters.
"That's impossible." Physalis Alkekengi's already pale face turned white.
"It's much easier than you think." Holden sighed.
"What happened to you? Where have you been for so long? A thousand years have passed!" Virdar put his hand on Wandi's shoulder. As a result of his questions, the hegin took another deep breath.
"Okay, I'll explain." He closed his eyes, then turned on his heel and simply walked in front of the small structure, there he sat down on the ground and crossed his legs, as the hegins used to sit. Virdar followed suit a little ahead of him. Alkekengi sat down on the ground next to the elder of the danovuses, one leg raised and a hand resting on it.
"Start explaining quickly, because I'm really confused now and you know how I am when I don't understand something." Physalis Alkekengi hissed between her teeth, but this only made every danovus present bar their teeth at her except Wandi.
"Watch your words, child!" Virdar warned.
"Watch my words? He tricked me! I do expect an explanation!" The female danovus was startled, but before the others could attack her, Wandi's voice filled the room again.
"To tell the truth, I should be grateful to you, Alkekengi." He said in a calm voice and with a faint smile. "Let's start at the beginning." Holden looked up at the ceiling of the palace, as if his memories were written there. "It all happened a thousand years ago, not long after I left Szelevu and arrived in your territory." He glanced at Alkekengi.
"What were you doing in the Karabatta Valley?" Physalis Alkekengi asked.
"Looking for a certain person." Wandi announced. "I just didn't expect the warm hospitality of the danovus clan there to last longer than I thought." The man's face became serious. "I had business, I wanted to travel further, but..." Here he closed his eyes and shook his head. "They didn't give me a chance..."