And read them the riot act when they arrived.

He didn't have long to wait. By the time he was finished eating, Var and Denai were jogging up towards their camp, coming in from the city. Jegojah was studying the maps that Tarrin had Conjured for him, and he could already see that the two of them were decidedly nervous. No doubt that Sarraya had filled their heads with all sorts of wild stories. He was pretty angry with them. He had no idea what possessed them to follow him. He specifically warned them of the danger, and of how angry it would make him. But they did it anyway. They came into camp looking like children caught stealing the pie, heads low and expressions anxious.

But looking into Denai's face told him everything he needed to know. Of course they followed him. Selani didn't just let friends go off and face danger alone. Denai looked pretty nervous, but underneath it was a look of concern and almost haughty pride at what she had done. Denai wasn't about to let Tarrin go running off into danger alone. It wasn't the Selani way. Selani thought of we long before they thought of I. Obviously, Denai had more or less adopted Tarrin in her mind's eye.

"You have no idea how lucky you are that there's no more danger," Tarrin growled at them. "If you'd have come two days earlier, I may have killed you myself."

"Then the danger is passed?" Var asked calmly.

"Jegojah, he was the danger, yes," the undead warrior cackled. "But Jegojah and the Were-cat, they have come to an understanding. Enemies no longer, the Were-cat and Jegojah are, no."

"Who is Jegojah?" Denai asked.

"He is," Tarrin said, pointing at Jegojah. "Certain peculiarities of language makes him speak of himself in the third person. You'll get used to it."

"I meant to ask why you were sharing a camp with a zombie," Var noted.

"Zombie, no," Jegojah told him. "Revenant, Jegojah is."

That made Var's head pick up. "And who is your target?"

"None here, Selani, no," Jegojah replied. Revenant. That was an old term, something that his father had told him about. It was an old soldier's tale that sometimes, men who were murdered violently sometimes rose from the dead and tracked down their murderers. When they killed them, they went on to their rest. They were called Revenants. Jegojah said that Pygas had granted him a year and a day to avenge himself against Kravon. It clicked that it must have been Pygas who was responsible for the Revenants, and that they were very real. "Jegojah, he and the Were-cat share a focus on the man Jegojah hunts. Both, this man has harmed, yes. When Jegojah strikes, he will strike for both."

"Then may the Holy Mother bless your hunt, Revenant," Var said seriously. "The enemies of Tarrin are enemies of the Selani."

"Jegojah accepts the blessing proudly, yes," Jegojah replied ceremoniously.

"You're getting off the subject, Var," Tarrin said hotly. "Why did you follow me? I warned you what would happen if you did, but you did anyway!"

"We don't leave friends alone," Denai said bluntly. "You think something as small as a little threat is going to stop us, Tarrin? My father threatens to kill me on a daily basis. It loses its impact after a few years."

Tarrin blew out his breath, then threw up his paws. "I give up," he announced, then he stalked away from them.

"Don't worry, he's already decided to let you stay," Sarraya said grandly as he walked away. "He didn't kill you. That's always a good sign."

Var and Denai assimilated themselves into the camp, and back into Tarrin's life, with shocking ease and speed. By the time he returned, they had their own tent, had hunted down a stray sukk somewhere, and were roasting parts of it over an efficiently dug firepit, lined with stones and with a spit erected over it. Denai was tending the meat as Var and Jegojah looked over the maps. Jegojah was, from the sound of it, debating with Var over troop movements and possible weaknesses in trying to set up a defensive picket at the Citadel of the Hill, to slow the ki'zadun down.

"What are you doing?" Tarrin asked them.

"The Selani, he wanted to know what Jegojah was studying, yes. So Jegojah, he explained things."

Var looked at Tarrin. "Your city is in danger?" he asked quickly.

"It's not the city that worries me, Var," Tarrin replied. "What the ki'zadun is doing is trying to banish my Goddess from the world. They can't destroy her, or get rid of her permanently, but if they succeed, there's a very good chance that it will kill most of the Sorcerers, any with strong ties to the Weave. Including me."

"This cannot be allowed to happen," Var said adamantly. "The enemies of our friends are our enemies. My clan will stand against this force that threatens your goddess."

"This isn't your war, Var," Tarrin told him.

"It is now," he said bluntly. "You are shida to my clan, and if you know anything of us, that makes you as one of us. The Clan does not abandon its own."

"I'm not asking for your help, Var," Tarrin told him. "This is a matter that doesn't concern the Selani. No need for you to get involved."

"It is our matter if we say it is our matter," he countered. "The Holy Mother herself will command me to call the Clan, no matter what you say. Just as you are shida to us, you form a bond between the Holy Mother and your goddess, who are sisters. The Holy Mother will not turn her back on a sister in need. And I will not disobey my Goddess, not for any reason."

Tarrin turned that over in his mind. He didn't want to inconvenience the Selani, but he couldn't deny that having a Selani clan aiding in the defense of Suld would make a significant impact. The Selani were devastating warriors, and a single clan would be more than a match for entire armies of opponents.

"Alright then," he surrendered. "If, and only if, the Holy Mother commands it of you, I'll allow it. I won't disobey the Holy Mother either. She may not be my patron, but her symbol is branded on my shoulder, and I took a vow to obey her. I don't go back on my word."

"Then you are a dutiful son as well as a friend of the Clan, Tarrin," Denai told him with that charming smile.

"I will pray to the Holy Mother and ask for guidance," Var said, standing up and walking some distance away. Tarrin had no worry that Var would simply say what he wanted to say. Var was Selani. If Fara'Nae told him no, he would abide by that decision. His own motivations had no place in it. Tarrin was still a little wary of dragging the Selani into waht was purely a human affair, but he wasn't about to turn down any offers of aid. He would be insane not to accept Selani warriors. They were some of the greatest warriors alive.

"Jegojah, he thinks that the ki'zadun are in for a very bad shock," Jegojah cackled. "They hope to surprise the Sulasians with fell beasts and magic. Jegojah, he thinks that they will be the ones surprised, facing Sorcerers, Sulasians, Ungardt, Wikuni, Vendari, Fae-da'Nar, Druids, Arakites, Demons, and now Selani. Jegojah, he hopes to see the look on Kravon's face, yes, when the truth is revealed."

"It would be worth it, wouldn't it?" Tarrin chuckled. Jegojah was right. The ki'zadun had gone to alot of trouble to amass a frightening army of nightmares. Well, now the katzh-dashi were going to be facing that frightening horde with a wide variety of similarly frightening beings, beings feared more for their abilities than their appearances. The Vendari, the Ungardt, and the Selani were three of the finest races of warriors on the face of Sennadar, and they would be fighting on the same side, against a common foe.

Tarrin did want to see Kravon's face when he saw his worst nightmare take the field against him. To see a united world standing against his Demonic horde, an alliance of the best warriors the world had to offer.

It would be very much worth it.