Lincoln, Theo’s grandfather, made his way to the small table to liqueurs that sat by the bookshelves along the wall. He poured himself a scotch and offered a glass to his grandson, who graciously declined. The elderly man turned his attention to his grandson’s work, peering over his shoulder. “What are you working on, boy?” The man sat back down in his chair and took a gulp of his drink. “Just some studies and readings granddad.” The thought of his studies would have made Theo’s father cringe. Jasper hated the idea of studying – he had always felt that if one wanted to learn about something the best way to do so was to engage in its world. Jasper always wanted his son, Theo, to just throw himself in the direction of a hellhound to learn how it works. Lincoln knew, however, that that wasn’t the way to go about it. To begin with, a non-tamer couldn’t just summon a hellhound whenever he wanted to. There was a reason hellhounds got summoned – it would be the work of a reaper or the end of a crossroads pact. One needed practice and a well versed knowledge in hellhounds to be able to summon one without being caught in the inevitable grips of death. Theo has been studying hellhounds since he was 15, now at the age of 23, Theo was proud to say that he had gradually become a great hellhound tamer. Though he had his moments of fears and doubts when it comes to the vicious creatures, he knows enough about taming the hounds that his father has allowed him to work with him every so often.
The truth was, however, Theo never wanted to be a hellhound Tamer. He had wanted to work with Sphinxes or with Dragons but he knew that if he had shied away from what the family had been taming for years, he surely would have been disowned. So instead, Theo spent years of his life with his mouth shut, forever holding a secret away from his father. If only he knew that his secret wasn’t the only secret in the family.
The dim room quickly fell quiet again as the two men turned their attention away from each other. Footsteps from the down the hall started to resonate in the empty house and both men looked up to see who would come through the door. “I believe that’s your father coming” The old man said to the boy. “I believe you’re right.” Seconds later Jasper came through the door, directing his eyes immediately to the boy. Theo stood to his feet, pushing away from the table to greet his father. Jasper smiled at his boy and at his father. “Theo, come. I need to prepare you.” The boy stood confused at the end of the table. Theo’s grandfather looked up at his son from his chair with a confused look on his face. It was apparent that Theo’s grandfather was just as confused as he was. His left eye brow raised in a glance on confusion towards his father, and his bearded lips pursed. “For?” The boy slowly closed the book he was reading and walked towards his father. Both gave the old man a departing pat on the shoulder as they walked down the hallway. “That Ulfrik character is having a get together at his domain and he asks that as many tamers as possible be there. I believe it has something to do with the liberation of the myths. You need to be prepared for whatever comes your way. King Percival will most likely have no part in this so there’s a chance that there will attacks against those who oppose him.” The man stopped at the end of the hall and put his hand out for his son. Theo noticed his father had the ring on, which only meant one thing. They were going to travel and practice battle. Theo took his father’s hand and with the blink of an eye, both were gone.