Fenrir Rex

A Branch in Blood

• All That I Am

  I was born on Mt. A'Kerry, as has been the way with our little branch family. I became the youngest son, of the lowest branch, of House Giovarri. I grew up with tales whispered to me by my Grandmother, the same woman who was midwife to my birth, of an old Kasurian clan called Rex. She told me: they lived long in the northernmost parts of Kasuria, living off the land and helping to settle much of the northern frontier, regaling me with tales of their kinship to the land and their prowess in battle.
  
  But then Jujinka, Prime of love, noticed clan Rex. She saw that it was strong, better befitting nobility. The then youngest daughter of House Giovarri was visiting the north, and there fell irreparably in love with a son of Rex. The resulting fruits of their passion did not go unnoticed, and those privy to it in house Giovarri at first thought it wise to let the babe be born out of wedlock, to not let such "shame" take on the fame of their name. Such is normally the way.
  
  However, Jujinka's love was strong, and the youngest daughter skillfully convinced the Great House that the Rex family could bring even stronger canine blood into their fold, that they had offered more than service enough to Kasuria: they deserved to be among the greatest, just as the greatest deserved their power. The wedding was swift, and silent, but clan Rex died that day and was devoured by the "greatness" of House Giovarri.
  
  We of the youngest branch have only so much to look forward to. I have this name of Greatness... but so far, all it has done is deny me the love that Jujinka pushed upon my ancestors. I cannot marry whomever I wish. I cannot wander the wilds as the blood of Rex did. I cannot join the foot soldiers on the field, no, such a lowly role does not befit a "noble." I feel the blood of Rex in me, more than I do the "greatness" of my house.
  
  I will answer the call of blood.
  
  Others in the house claim it is but a childish fit, jokingly say to let the "wild young man" have his wanderings... as so many of my kin are prone to more oafish meandering about the land. They say my love for a dead clan is heedless, impertinent, unimportant. They say I will come back into the fold soon enough, laughing all the while. Perhaps they are right. But I will live as a common man, as the remnant of that long dead clan, for as long as I possibly can.